The Big 3 (ways to win at sports)

You don’t win once in a while, you don’t do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time.

Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.”​

– Vince Lombardi

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I am not a ‘winning’ apologist. It’s in the name of my podcast.

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I spend a lot of energy talking about building strong children and developing awesome team cultures.

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​​​​​​​That is why winning is important. One of the fundamental cornerstones in building strong children is teaching them to not be satisfied with ‘good enough.’

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That’s what’s so powerful about competition. It is a measuring stick that provides tangible results on how we are progressing.

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The key is defining the end goal. John Wooden defines it like this:

Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.

A win, in and of itself, should not define whether you were successful. If you let it, you will become complacent after a win. You shouldn’t. You should continue the striving ‘to become the best you are capable of becoming.’

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We discussed this at length in this week’s podcast. Strategies on how to lead your team to perform it’s best.

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Lynden Gwartney has studied winning coaches in sports and compared the results with military leaders who have been successful on the battlefield.

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Looking at 45 components of successful teams, he narrowed it down to his ‘Big 3.’

Find your opponents weakness and attack it

Stick with what’s working

Find your opponents strength and neutralize it

These are great in-game tactics for a coach to use to give their teams the best chance to perform at a high level and have success in the game. (And dare I say, give their teams the best chance to win?)